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1. Do bees have the sense of smell? If so, what should not be worn around them? Should you not be all sweaty near them?

2. After the bees cap over a frame of honey, how long do I wait before it can be taken off? Most people here take off honey in late August/September. I have eager people to eat the honey.

3. Will be still be able to use our backyard? I've told them we could sit in a chair right by the hive and watch all day if we wanted - but...

4. I get brown recluse spiders in my garage. I usually clear out most of the stuff and bug bomb it. Since I keep the garage closed until the next day, will the fumes come out and kill my bees? The garage is detached about 20 ft from the hives. I could leave it shut up for 2 days.

&gt;1. Do bees have the sense of smell? If so, what should not be worn around them? Should you not be all sweaty near them?

They don't seem to care too much about sweat. Flowery smells will cause them to be more curious and you'll get more of them checking you out, but it doesn't make them mad. Lemongrass makes them want to cluster around you, because it's the same as Nasanov pheromone. Again, it doesn't make them angry but makes a lot more of them interested in you. Don't eat bananas before you work the bees, it smells like alarm pheromone. If you wear the same suit all the time and the bees keep marking it with alarm pheromone, they will get more upset everytime you work the bees. Wash it. Pinesol seems to be a popular method of removing the alarm smell.

&gt;2. After the bees cap over a frame of honey, how long do I wait before it can be taken off?

Once it's capped it's ready to eat.

&gt;Most people here take off honey in late August/September. I have eager people to eat the honey.

The hive is a good place to store it because the bees will keep the moths out.

&gt;3. Will be still be able to use our backyard? I've told them we could sit in a chair right by the hive and watch all day if we wanted - but...

Once in a while the bees get grouchy. Weather, skunks, queenlessness, genetics. Normally, yes you could, but you also have a lot of friendly bees running into you because you are in their flyway. I'd face the hive away from the yard, so the gaurd bees don't see you and put it at the edge of the yard. If the traffic is still bumping into you, you can put up a six foot fence. The bees will maintain their altitude after they go up to leave and they will maintain that altitude coming back because they know they have to clear the fence.

&gt;4. I get brown recluse spiders in my garage. I usually clear out most of the stuff and bug bomb it. Since I keep the garage closed until the next day, will the fumes come out and kill my bees?

Do it at night. Most of it will disapate by the next morning. The bees won't be out at night.

&gt;The garage is detached about 20 ft from the hives. I could leave it shut up for 2 days.

I'd just leave it for 24 hours. Do it at dark one night and open it at dark a day later.